Will Obama help or hurt Fractionals

[gunfyter]

No I forgot.

So the company sent a letter saying the health benefite were worth about $10k a few months ago.

I pay $2500 in tax on that and collect a $5K McCain tax credit ...

Carry the one ...


uhhh .... Obama costs me $6700 per year more than McCain!

$6700 Dollars. Do you realize that means I might have to drive a 3 Series instead of a 7 Series BMW?

 

[nerdpilot]

Who of you were so sure about voting for bush the last two terms???? Guess you are only hoping for an average that will get you in the hall of fame in baseball. I am a small fish and will always be a small fish.....................I believe the Democrats by only a small fraction......are for the small fish. Oversimplifly this.

 

[YankeeEcho]

Do any of you still think McCain will win? If so, you're dreaming.

Absolutely!! McCain will prevail!

 

[Bronco Buster]

I went to the McCain website to look at his healthcare proposal. It appears that you only get the tax credit if you actually purchase your own health insurance, and in that case the money goes directly to health insurer. Since these days a good health insurance policy for a family will cost you at least $1100 per month, I don't foresee many folks with a family and or advanced age giving up their company plan for the self insure option. The perverse effect of this however will be for the young, single, healthy individuals to leave the company plans thereby increasing the costs for those that remain in the company plans. A good example of this is what has happened to the pilot health insurance plan at Delta Airlines where the retired folks were put in a separate risk pool (payback for many of those folks taking the lump sum and contributing to the elimination of the defined benefit plan) with significantly higher premiums. In response to Gunfyter, I estimate that the average Netjets captain makes $130000 a year so his/her SS tax would go up approx $1700 under the Obama plan (6.2% SS tax times $13000-$102000).

 

[skiandsurf]

Who of you were so sure about voting for bush the last two terms???? Guess you are only hoping for an average that will get you in the hall of fame in baseball. I am a small fish and will always be a small fish.....................I believe the Democrats by only a small fraction......are for the small fish. Oversimplifly this.

This is the biggest misconception about the democrats. They are not for "the little guy", they are out for themselves. They dont care about you or me, they may tell you that they care, but they dont. Biden says it "patriotic to pay more taxes". Then why doesnt Oprah and Buffett (Obamas big supporters) show their patriotism by paying off the Wall Street problems. Because they dont care about you or me.

Now, dont get me wrong, the republicans are just the same. Its all talk, and misconception.

If the wealthy dems cared about us, why dont they let us live in their houses (for free), or use their private jets for our vacation. Why does Will Ferrell (big time Dem) make so much money, yet charge us so much to see the movie. If hollywood cared, they wouldnt charge so much to see their crappy movies. They are looking out for themselves to make money, then they go to these democratic fundraisers to make you think that they care.....THEY DONT CARE ABOUT YOU AND ME.

For me, this election comes down to character. Obama has some characters in his past (the reverend and the terrorist) that I dont trust.

McCain may not be the answer, but I trust his character.

 

[GerryG]

Take the blinders off

I would submit that many of us on the forum are union pilots and as such our own personal self interests are closely tied to our unions abilities to represent us effectively. An analysis of McCain's record, when focused specifically on his opinions with regard to unions reflects that he has been adversarial to us. Those of us who have flown him also know that he has never displayed any love for pilots. I ask that each of you consider that a vote for this man is a vote for an anti-union agenda...

ALPA’s Presidential Questionnaire - John McCain’s Responses
On February 10, 2008, the John McCain 2008 presidential campaign advised ALPA’s
Government Affairs Department that the campaign’s policy is not to respond to presidential
questionnaires from organizations. This response came after ALPA’s repeated attempts since
September 13, 2007, to secure Senator McCain’s participation in the Association’s 2008
Presidential Questionnaire.
Senator McCain did, however, respond to ALPA’s presidential survey when he ran for President
in 2000. That survey was printed as a special insert in the February 2000 Air Line Pilot.
Realizing that ALPA members are interested in Senator McCain’s current presidential campaign and in the absence
of more current input, the decision was made to post his responses to the questions posed by ALPA in 2000.
Some of the issues are the same on both questionnaires and, despite the lapse of time, it is believed that the
Senator’s responses from 2000 may provide some insight for ALPA members on his positions on several issues
that affect professional airline pilots.
ALPA Survey of Presidential Candidates—2000
Q: Currently, U.S. law prohibits foreign interests from owning or controlling U.S. airlines. Do you believe this
policy should be (a) relaxed, (b) maintained, (c) strengthened or (d) eliminated?
John McCain: I believe this policy should be relaxed. Consistent with the goals of airline deregulation,
liberalized competition and entry in the market should enhance service and lower air fares. I have
sponsored legislation in the past that would increase the permissible level of foreign investment from
25 to 49 percent. The legislation included certain protections, however. The Department of
Transportation would approve such investments only after satisfying requirements about the
reciprocity of the home country of the foreign investor, the promotion of competition, and national
security concerns.
Q: Federal law allows companies to replace their employees who are on strike, seeking better working conditions
and improved wages and benefits. If elected, would you support or oppose changing the law so that employees
can strike without fear of permanently losing their jobs?
John McCain: I fully support the right of workers to express their grievances in the form of an orderly,
legal strike. Even so, when employees choose to take such steps, the law has always balanced the
rights of all concerned by providing employers certain rights. One of those has always been the right
of employers to hire replacement workers.
Q: Foreign airlines are currently prohibited by U.S. law from carrying revenue passengers between U.S. cities, a
practice known as cabotage. Do you believe this policy should be (a) relaxed, (b) maintained, (c) strengthened or
(d) eliminated.
John McCain: I believe that the U.S. policy on cabotage should be relaxed. Foreign airlines could
provide much needed competition on domestic airline routes, which would result in lower fares for
the benefit of consumers. Increased operations of foreign airlines in the U.S. would also promote
employment opportunities for U.S. citizens. Of course, the ability of foreign airlines to serve domestic
U.S. routes should be contingent on the reciprocity of the home countries of the foreign airlines. It is
worth noting that the impetus to relax the U.S. policy on cabotage has probably waned in recent
years, since foreign carriers have been granted the ability to codeshare with U.S. carriers on domestic
routes.
Q: Some managements have asserted that American labor law does not apply to airline flight crews employed by
U.S. airlines when the crews are based overseas or are working exclusively in foreign operations. Do you believe
U.S. citizens performing such jobs should be covered by U.S. labor laws?
John McCain: Before committing to a position, I would need to review additionally any proposal to
mandate legislatively that pilots flying overseas routes for U.S. carriers be covered by the Railway
Labor Act. I admit that I have concerns about the extraterritorial enforcement of U.S. law necessary
in this instance, which oftentimes invites retaliation that is harmful to consumers and company
employees alike.

 

[skiandsurf]

I would submit that many of us on the forum are union pilots and as such our own personal self interests are closely tied to our unions abilities to represent us effectively. An analysis of McCain's record, when focused specifically on his opinions with regard to unions reflects that he has been adversarial to us. Those of us who have flown him also know that he has never displayed any love for pilots. I ask that each of you consider that a vote for this man is a vote for an anti-union agenda...

.

Valid points, but remember that the great Clinton(D)stopped the American Airlines Pilots strike after 19 minutes.

So the Dems arent so union friendly either.

 

[GerryG]

I concede the Clinton point (best Republican President we have ever had), but this is not a race between Clinton and McCain.

P.S. Ya I know Bill was actually a Dem, so please...

 

[GerryG]

And to further illustrate the point..

McCain blasts pilots for adding to air delays

September 14, 2000
Web posted at: 12:23 PM EDT (1623 GMT)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain blasted airline pilots Thursday for what he called their greed and role in exacerbating gridlock in U.S. skies.
McCain, a Navy pilot shot down over Vietnam, accused pilots at UAL Corp.'s United Airlines of carrying out "work stoppages to satisfy their personal greed" and noted a sickout by pilots at AMR Corp.'s American Airlines last year.
He said many parties, including the Federal Aviation Administration and Congress, needed to shoulder the blame for aviation congestion. But he singled out airline pilots for his toughest criticism, going so far as to question their patriotism.
"This year, more than ever, airline employees have caused enormous delays," said McCain, opening a hearing on air travel delays.
"And you know what saddens me the most? A large number of these pilots are former military whose code is supposed to be 'duty, honor, country,'" said McCain, who was held prisoner in Vietnam for five-and-a-half years.
"Now they take action without a thought for the Americans that rely on them to ferry their families across the country for a family vacation, attend a wedding or be at the side of a sick relative."
Pilots defend themselves

Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) President Duane Woerth quickly voiced outrage at McCain's comments. "We don't take a patriotic back seat to anybody," Woerth told Reuters at the hearing.
During difficult contract talks this summer, United pilots often refused overtime, causing the airline to cancel thousands of flights and leaving passengers scrambling to make alternative arrangements.
The problems at United, the world's largest airline, combined with severe thunderstorms in major U.S. flight lanes led to record delays this summer, final numbers are expected to show.
Fewer flights have been canceled since a tentative contract deal was reached late last month. ALPA has denied there was any orchestrated pilot action.
McCain also contrasted pilots' salaries with those of other Americans, comparing the 1998 per capita income of $20,120 with the $342,000 per year that top pilots at United would make by 2004 under the tentative contract.
The plain-speaking McCain said Congress had probably contributed to delays by passing pork-barrel legislation that gave money to smaller airports in lawmakers' districts at the expense of the largest airports that carry the most passengers.
He said the FAA's air traffic control modernization program had failed to keep up with the sharp rise in passengers, with 635 million people flying last year compared with 278 million in 1978, when the airline system was deregulated.

 

[gunfyter]

I went to the McCain website to look at his healthcare proposal. It appears that you only get the tax credit if you actually purchase your own health insurance, and in that case the money goes directly to health insurer. Since these days a good health insurance policy for a family will cost you at least $1100 per month, I don't foresee many folks with a family and or advanced age giving up their company plan for the self insure option. The perverse effect of this however will be for the young, single, healthy individuals to leave the company plans thereby increasing the costs for those that remain in the company plans. A good example of this is what has happened to the pilot health insurance plan at Delta Airlines where the retired folks were put in a separate risk pool (payback for many of those folks taking the lump sum and contributing to the elimination of the defined benefit plan) with significantly higher premiums. In response to Gunfyter, I estimate that the average Netjets captain makes $130000 a year so his/her SS tax would go up approx $1700 under the Obama plan (6.2% SS tax times $13000-$102000).

Everyone gets the tax credit and:

Making the Tax Subsidy Fair: By making the tax code more equitable and transparent, John McCain will give every family a refundable tax credit – cash towards insurance – of $5,000 (Individuals receive$2,500). Every family in America, regardless of the source of their insurance or how much they make will get the same help. Families will be able to stay with their current plan, or choose the insurance provider that suits them best and have the money sent directly to the insurance provider.​

So unless you are in a higher than 25% marginal tax bracket or receive more than $20K in benefits ... you are better off with McCain's plan.

This does not pull down people who work where benefits are provided but helps people where benefits are not provided.​